Chapter 466

"What demons and ghosts, what beautiful masks, what mountains of blades and seas of fire, what traps and schemes, what demons and ghosts."

Cold wind howled, piercing clothing, freezing skin to the bone, as the group walked along the treacherous mountain path of sheer cliffs and layered, rugged peaks.

Far off, a silver waterfall plunged straight down the mountain ravine; below, mist curled over the water, rippling emerald waves.

"Elder Tang, can you please stop singing?" Meng Qi rubbed his ears. "You sing all you want, but why not lift the perception shield so the two young friends behind you can hear too?"

Su Lin smiled: "Wouldn't that ruin my character?"

"Do you even have a character like that?" Lu Mingfei stayed far away, worried that Tang Seng might turn him into a black dragon horse out of sheer mischief.

The most dangerous member of this pilgrimage team was this bald monk—provoking the monkey or the pig on the other side, or even some unknown species, still left a glimmer of hope; but if any foolish demon dared to provoke this bald monk, he'd likely suffer unspeakable torment.

"You can only use part of your cultivation and divine powers while holding it." Li Huowang examined the crescent-shaped spade in his hand. "Is this really the reward for completing the mission?"

Su Lin tugged the reins, halting the horse beneath him: "It's not bad enough—if you're not an immortal or someone without talent, you can't leap straight to the heavens."

He dismounted, gazing at the towering, jagged peaks rising like five fingers to meet the blue sky; the morning sun's radiance streamed through the gaps between the fingers, golden light pouring in thousands of rays, auspicious qi swirling, while two or three wild cranes spread their wings and flew past.

Zhang Heng and Chu Lingyun had both been rejoicing at the prospect of completing their mission, glad to have been randomly paired with this powerful and mysterious group of veterans—but after their black eyes reflected this fairyland scene, both froze, pupils contracting.

How long had it been since they last saw this?

Zhang Heng's mind flashed with grotesque, shambling corpses, the stench of decay no rain could ever wash clean.

Gloomy weather was the most common sight in the wasteland; deformed demons and undead wandered beyond the protected zones; even on rare clear days, all they saw were cramped, stacked cage-like buildings.

Humans, food, core crystals, medicine—all were resources. After struggling for so long, wasn't this the very thing they'd longed for: to see such a scene again?

He recalled his youth, climbing Laojun Mountain with his parents—the high steps, the endless mountain path, each step growing harder and harder, yet once atop the summit, all worries and physical fatigue vanished.

Chu Lingyun remembered her time in the Prince's Mansion.

After being detected with cultivation potential, on her first day of training, her teacher brought her to the sect; day after day, year after year, until the Red Moon descended, when she returned to the mansion.

Since then, the great masters hidden within Xianshan emerged one by one; cultivators became the frontline blades on the battlefield, losing all detachment from worldly turmoil, all transcendent calm.

Severed limbs and arms, severed heads with bulging, furious eyes, scattered everywhere; many fellow disciples self-exploded their Nascent Souls, streaking like meteors across the blood-red night sky.

"What kind of world has a shortcut to the heavens?" Su Lin's voice rang out, ethereal and distant:

"For reincarnators, completing this western journey isn't as hard as climbing to the heavens? When you have the strength to reach the heavens, you won't need Sha Wujing's power anymore."

For some reason, everyone felt an ethereal celestial melody echoing through the ravine, dreamlike and illusory, descending from the ninth heavens into the mortal world, adding a wholly different hue to the world.

Su Lin's words struck like a sudden enlightening revelation, piercing straight to their souls.

Parting the dark clouds to see the clear sky, waiting until the clouds part to behold the bright moon.

Only by persisting with unwavering determination could one finally reach the moment of success; now, all sorrows and troubles arose from the reincarnation space, and arriving here was itself an affirmation of their unyielding perseverance.

"Life is like a game of chess—once the piece is placed, no regrets." Su Lin clasped his hands together, smiling at Zhang Heng and Chu Lingyun. "Liangjie Mountain lies just ahead. All feasts must end. Take care."

Zhang Heng felt his eyes grow damp; he suppressed his emotion and, inexplicably, imitated the other's Buddhist gesture: "Thank you, Elder, for your care."

"Thank you, all Elders," Chu Lingyun bowed to the group as well; along this journey, she had gained immensely.

In just a few days, under the backing and guidance of these veterans, their combat abilities had surged dramatically.

Such an opportunity would likely never come again.

Su Lin nodded, retracting the externalized portable player; the basic version of the Immortal Melody had clearly helped these two reincarnators.

Just guiding newcomers through a mission is no real guidance. True guidance means reminding everyone to never forget their original intent, to always walk the correct path.

But why are the others in the group more wary of me? Are you seriously stepping back half a step?

"Good!"

Applause rang out as six figures burst forth from ahead, each wielding long spears, short swords, sharp blades, and powerful bows.

"You, monk, have a certain divine aura."

"I heard eating Tang Seng's flesh grants immortality. Monk, why not follow the Buddha's example and offer your flesh to save me? Help me become an immortal?"

"Enough talk. Just attack."

These bandits appeared suddenly, their chatter suggesting they were certain they'd already won over the group.

In Journey to the West, the six bandits of Liangjie Mountain were named Eye-Loving-View, Ear-Angry-Hearing, Nose-Loving-Scent, Tongue-Thinking-Taste, Mind-Desiring-Will, and Body-Plagued-Form—representing the Six Desires. From Taibai Jinxing, they learned the Six Desires' mission had long been completed; after the reboot, only six ordinary bandits remained.

Logically, they shouldn't have mattered at all.

"Monk, look here!" The six bandits swung spears and swords, charging together.

Su Lin frowned; before he could act, heaven and earth became chaotic, a realm swapped, wind howled—Meng Qi swept the six bandits into his Sleeve of Heaven and Earth.

"Strange—these men are clearly mortals, yet their concealment technique surpasses even immortals." Meng Qi warned: "Likely reincarnators. Proceed with caution."

Suddenly, Meng Qi's expression turned odd; he activated his Sleeve of Heaven and Earth again and hurled the six bandits out.

"They killed themselves."

Six bodies still warm, yet now utterly devoid of breath.

Shi Hao spoke: "No one else nearby."

Su Lin nodded; he'd sensed these men were truly mortals, yet something inexplicable lingered—like they carried more than ordinary people, as if their life's weight differed somehow.

"Forget it. Head to Liangjie Mountain first. See what tricks they've got."

It wasn't worth worrying about—if this counted as one trial, then my fortune must have increased a bit more.

I'm actually looking forward to it—when we reach the foot of Lingshan, will I be able to roll a golden glow all over my body? By the way—

Will my card draw affect this world's fate?

It seems I'm supposed to use it to mend the sky.

The group continued forward; Han Li subtly activated a spell, controlling the remaining puppets to obliterate the bandits' corpses.

"Wasn't it Tang Seng who did it?"

Inside Meng Qi's sleeve, a self-contained world existed; the six bandits, far from fearing, wore chilling smiles—they raised their knives and slashed their own throats, instantly losing all breath.

Conditions met. The formless Heavenly Fate Devourer moved with practiced ease beyond reality.

He had not truly arrived in this world; instead, through complete acquisition, he made the six bandits part of himself, then used the past's timeline to influence the present.

In other words, from the moment they were born, these six bandits were him.

Precisely because of this, he possessed absolute confidence: no matter what cards these people held, none could detect his presence or his actions.

At this moment, through contact with Meng Qi, he activated a secret technique, turning the six bandits into conduits for his influence, overlapping his phantom self with the world beyond, ready to collect another brand-new life.

What he needed to do was simple: merely cling to this man's destiny pattern and travel to the past.

The void shattered like glass, layer upon layer overlapping, layer upon layer merging; formless fate entities writhed from the river of time, heading to the past, glimpsing the fleeting splendor of the prey's entire life.

The further back he went, the weaker everything became; occasionally encountering once-glorious beings, they merely added more experiences to the life he would soon claim.

All the things he once envied as a human now existed only to please him.

However.

Today was slightly different.

The power extending outward was silently swallowed, silently vanished; in an instant, he felt he saw chaos without front or back, without boundaries.

Why was this man's past so strange? The origins of reincarnators truly varied endlessly.

He had assumed the other possessed some special inheritance or protective power; among the Heavenly Fate protagonists he had devoured before, such beings were not unheard of.

The Heavenly Fate Devourer grew even more excited—this meant the other might possess even greater resources and a unique life.

Chaos erupted like fireworks; blooming clouds of auspicious radiance emerged, coalescing into vivid, utterly distinct scenes—Meng Qi's past.

"Throughout heaven and earth, only I am supreme."

The voice exploded like thunder; in a tide of golden ten-thousand-character seals, a golden Buddha sat cross-legged in empty space, forming a mudra, cradling an ancient glass lantern and a purple soul.

'A real Monk?!'

The thought had barely formed when the surroundings blurred abruptly; a sudden clarity struck his mind, and the scenery of the past shifted to infinite heights.

There sat a Daoist in blue robes, his temples slightly streaked with white, holding a string of Buddhist prayer beads, breathing in chaos; the wick of the lamp ignited a faint glow, as if the heavens and earth were opening anew, an epoch restarting.

It was a mountain.

A towering mountain that absolutely should not exist within the River of Time, blocking his path.

The Heavenly Fate Devourer's spirit trembled; his desire-driven thoughts instantly sharpened into clarity. Fearing he might disturb the Daoist, who slept peacefully, guarded by countless heavenly laws, he hurried back to the time point he came from.

Even if it was merely a hollow shell, drained of power.

But.

The timeline of the youth whose destiny he clung to had become chaotic—no past or future, leaving him flitting wildly through different eras like a fly lost in a maze.

'How could this… how could this happen?!'

No front or back, no up or down, ten-directional chaos, dim and hazy.

He relied on clinging to others' destiny patterns to rewind time, depending on their linear timeline—why was this man's past so utterly chaotic?

Worse still, the Daoist with white-streaked temples kept his eyes shut, his image piercing through every historical scene.

Even with this ability, as long as he had not truly performed the act of devouring, he was not truly present within the other's timeline.

Yet, that feeling of panic had reappeared in his heart after countless ages.

In his haste, he spotted a chaotic scene where the Daoist's figure was absent, and plunged straight into it.

Ahead, darkness deepened, its depths unseen, leading nowhere known; behind, time was chaotic, the Daoist sleeping in every scene.

Suddenly, golden Buddhist light flooded the heavens; countless illusory ten-thousand-character seals surged forth like tides. The Heavenly Fate Devourer, like a lost soul finding a beacon, began to feel a quiet joy.

He was about to take that step when the Daoist's phantom and the ten-directional chaotic scenes vanished entirely—Yu Yingzhao's path through past, present, and future was revealed.

Only then did he realize his destination was incredibly distant—far beyond the youth's normal lifespan.

A great immortal reincarnated?

The Heavenly Fate Devourer was nearly certain: in that distant scene, a Buddha sat with hands clasped, tears streaming from his eyes, his aura faint to the extreme. If this was the correct moment, devouring him would not be difficult.

He was tempted. That chasm-like distance was not beyond crossing.

But the Daoist had left a deep impression on him—just as he kept many backups, what if, just in case, he accidentally triggered something…

As the Heavenly Fate Devourer hesitated, he saw the Buddha's eyes pour forth blood tears, his body trembling, kneeling on the ground, as if his lamp was nearly extinguished.

I'll risk it.

The thought arose—when suddenly, the Buddha in the scene snapped open blood-red eyes, sat in full lotus, and curled his lips into a sinister smile; his white monk's robe turned dark crimson, and one after another chaotic, lawless, mad worlds erupted beside him.

He reached out, his gaze fixed on the Heavenly Fate Devourer; countless black inverted ten-thousand-character seals coalesced into a colossal hand, faintly threatening to pierce through the veil of heaven.

'Shit!!!'

Even his original body, far away in another world, nearly collapsed, rushing back at the fastest speed he'd ever moved.

A blade of light grazed past him; he saw the youth holding a brilliant blue longsword and a jet-black longknife, roaring amid the destruction of thunder and stars:

"I do not ask about my past!"

"Are you bastards trying to murder me?!" The Heavenly Fate Devourer's form twisted space, rising from the silver coin in Ya's hand, shouting:

"Cancel the contract and send me back right now!"

"According to the contract, you must replace a reincarnator and hand over all information they controlled," Ya said coldly. "What did you see?"

"I didn't succeed in devouring him! Why should I tell you?!" The Heavenly Fate Devourer cursed, bellowing: "F*** you!"

Ya immediately pocketed the silver coin—he had dealt with this disgusting creature too many times to know exactly how to handle him.

Since he wouldn't speak, then business as usual: having accepted the contract, he must continue devouring until he succeeded.

The only problem was, the opposing team's level of trouble exceeded his expectations—had the Heavenly Fate Devourer just implied he would die?

"Li Hantian, monk from the Guanyin Chan Courtyard—any believers can be sacrificed," Ya whispered. "Summon the Demon Guard."

Probe and exhaust their hidden cards; if possible, seize control with the demon army.

(End of Chapter)